Name: Zilli Fish
Address: 36-40 Brewer Street, London, Soho, W1F 9TB, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7734 8649

I was in the heart of Soho, meeting an old foodie friend for a quick lunch and a catch up chat and Zilli Fish beckoned.

The staff were absolutely brilliant – attentive, genuinely pleased to see us and swift. The décor is nice – modern and clean with more of a French than an Italian flavour. I particularly loved the large tank of brightly coloured fish behind the bar too. Mental note that I could take kids in future as they would no doubt be happy to watch the fish while I ate.

I started with a duo of tuna and swordfish carpaccio with rocket and parmesan salad and it didn’t disappoint. My friend made the smarter decision though with courgette spaghetti with smoked mackerel and a poached egg. Delicious.

A beautiful tall carafe of tap water kept us hydrated and we each had a glass of perfectly chilled Pinot Grigio – I admit that I generally tend to steer away from this wine but it was fresh, fruity and went down rather too easily.

I won on the mains. My homemade spaghetti with scampi, mussels and clams in a spicy cherry tomato sauce was really tasty although we both agreed that the spaghetti was just slightly overcooked. Personally, I could have eaten a bigger portion it was so good. But then this food is likely to make you greedy. I also wished that they hadn’t placed the strongly lemon scented hand towel so close as it prevented the delicate aroma of the food reaching my senses. And that’s why it looked like I had my head in the bowl – honest!

My colleague had chosen the goujons of lemon soul in batter with thin chips (and I didn’t steal one!) with a garlic and chive mayonnaise (although he “held” on the mayo). Looked like fish and chips to me – but he seemed to enjoy it. I struggled with the conversation though – and it’s no reflection on my friend – but the ambient noise level was very high. Definitely a place for friends although the majority of the other diners (and it was nearly full) appeared to be business folk. I wonder what it’s like in the evening?

The double espressos were, as you would expect, perfect.

Having seen the great Mr Aldo Zilli on the TV I guess I was a little disappointed that I didn’t see him there – not that I would have had much to say to him. Although I might just have asked him about the Italian Masterclass sessions that he runs – I’m sorely tempted. And I was so proud of myself for resisting the urge to buy a copy of his book. Although I suspect I will take a copy with me when I visit Amalfi later in the year having purchased it in the safe anonymity of Amazon.

With the tip of £7.55 the bill came to £67.95 which I thought was a bit steep bearing in mind that we only had one glass of wine each and the set menu at £19.90 for two courses. But we were in Soho and it was worth it, I’m still dreaming about those shellfish...

Zilli Fish

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